Since this
stretch of road
from London Road
to the Triangle
was the road
leading to the
town, or the
fore-way, it was
known as Fore
Street from
Medieval times.

In 1418 the
lower part of
Middle Street
was referred to
as 'Forstrete'
in a deed thus
"Grant by Thomas
Harlyng, parson
of the church of
Yevele, and lord
of the town
there, to Joan,
wife of William,
son of Henry
Martyn of Yevele
and of Joan
Henry's wife,
and to Cristina
daughter of the
said William and
Joan, for their
lives, of the
reversion of a
messuage and
curtilage
adjoining, in
the street
called 'Forstrete'
in Yevele, which
premises
Nicholas Slake,
late parson of
the same church
had demised to
the said Henry,
Joan his wife,
and William
their son for
their lives.
Witnesses:—William
Lumbard, provost
of the said
town, and others
(named). 9
October, 5 Henry
V".

Confusion over
the name of this
stretch of road
began in the
nineteenth
century when it
was called
variously Fore
Street,
Townsend,
Middle Street
and Lower Middle
Street.
Technically
Townsend was the
area from the
junction of
Reckleford and
London Road
(today's
Sherborne Road)
as far as Newton
Road, but many
people
(especially
census
enumerators)
referred to
Townsend as
reaching as far
as the Triangle.
Today it is
Middle Street
from the
Borough to
Newton Road,
although many
people refer to
this section as
Lower Middle
Street to
differentiate it
from the section
running from the
Borough to the
Triangle.

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From my
collection

The north side
of Lower Middle
Street, close to
the Triangle, probably
photographed in
1923 (when Mary Slann
was running the
Coronation Hotel
a few doors
along).

A postcard of
around 1912 of
Lower Middle
Street looking
towards the
Triangle with
the new
Co-operative
Society building
built in 1910.
The building at
right was
Commercial
Buildings.

From my
collection

Pretty much
the same view,
this is a 1940s
postcard but the photograph
was taken around
1923 when Mary
Slann was
running the
Coronation Hotel. (The Jesty
& Co sign is
suspended from a
building to the
left and is not
on the Co-op
building).

A
hand-coloured
postcard dating
to 1905 and
looks down
Lower Middle Street
from the
Triangle. At
left is the
Coronation Hotel
and Vaults and
to the right is
the large
three-light
Sugg
gas lamp which
was removed when
the underground
toilets were
built - the
location is now
the bandstand.

A photograph of
Lower Middle
Street, dating
to about 1900,
shows the
Railway Inn at
extreme left
projecting
slightly beyond
the terraced
building next to
it. The
photographer is
standing roughly
outside where
the
William
Dampier is today
and looking
along the
eastern end of
Middle Street
with Station
Road (now Old
Station Road)
at right. The
large building
on the junction
at right was the
Fernleigh
Temperance Hotel
and is currently
an Indian
restaurant. This
incarnation of
the Railway Inn
was demolished
in 1913 to allow
for the
construction of
Central Road and
the new Railway
Tavern was built
to one side - on
the corner now
occupied by the
William Dampier.
The site of this
first Railway
Tavern is now
the end of
Central Road (at
the traffic
lights outside
the William
Dampier) - see
photo below.

A
hand-coloured
postcard, taken
from the above
photograph.

The same view as
above but taking
in 2012. The
original Railway
Inn has gone,
replaced with
Central Road,
but the building
next to it
housing the
kebab shop
remains, as does
the old
Fernleigh
Temperance Hotel
building at
right. The
frontage of the
original Railway
Inn, bearing in
mind that it
projected
further towards
the road than
its neighbours,
would have been
roughly where
the red bag is
belonging to the
man crossing the
road. This
particular
junction is
today ruined by
a plethora of
street furniture
- lights,
cameras, traffic
lights, signs,
etc.